Colombia Beat Ghana To Secure Final Last 16 Spot
The story
BBC Sport - Colombia progressed to the World Cup last 16 with another convincing display as Jhon Arias' first-half winner eliminated a disappointing Ghana side in sweltering Kansas City.
Playing in temperatures above 30C until well after 10pm, Nestor Lorenzo's men booked a date with Switzerland in Vancouver on Tuesday, with the mouth-watering prospect of a quarter-final meeting with Argentina looming beyond that - and the only surprise is that they did not win by a wider margin.
Details
Ghana ended the night without a shot on target and registered just four in total across their four games - only Iraq had fewer at this World Cup. Indeed, Colombia had twice as many shots on target in the game as Ghana managed in the entire tournament.
Thomas Partey came closest for the Black Stars as he fizzed a long-range shot inches past the post inside 60 seconds.
In a chaotic opening 10 minutes, Colombia forward Jhon Cordoba was forced off with a groin strain, with Luis Suarez coming on, while Ghana lost right-back Marvin Senaya to a hamstring injury, with Alidu Seidu replacing him.
It was Suarez who burst down the right and crossed for the unmarked Arias to guide home a far-post volley after 14 minutes, with Seidu failing to track the midfielder's run.
Ghana eventually came out of their shell and Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo saw a shot deflected over the bar - as his tournament ended without a single effort on target.
At the other end, Luis Diaz dragged a low shot wide of the near post with only recalled keeper Lawrence Zigi to beat and Suarez powered a header off-target from Jefferson Lerma's cross. In added time, Zigi did well to claw Johan Mojica's downward header off the line from Daniel Munoz's cross to the far post.
Why it matters
This is a public-interest story for readers because it touches institutions, communities, policy decisions, or services that affect daily life. Mods99 News will continue updating the article if more verified details become available.